Everyone has experienced some degree of stress in their life — it’s inevitable. We constantly hear that stress is bad, and too much is a problem, but many people are unaware of all the negative implications it has on our lives.
When responding to stress, the body follows a predictable, three-stage model known as General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). The first stage is the Alarm Reaction Stage, or “fight or flight” mode. The stressor is presented, and your body reacts: your heart begins to beat faster, cortisol (the body’s stress hormone) is released, and a surge of adrenaline increases your energy.
Next is the Resistance Stage. Heart rate and blood pressure return to normal and the body begins to release less cortisol. Your body is adapting, learning to live with elevated stress levels. While you may mistake this as handling the stress well, the body is still on high-alert, until one of two things happens: the stressor goes away and the body returns to normal, or the stressor remains, and the body enters the Exhaustion Stage.
In this stage, the body is no longer able to continue fighting stress, becoming fatigued and burnt out. It’s overall ability to cope with stress is decreased, and depression and anxiety may start to settle in.
Entering the Exhaustion Stage not only poses mental and emotional consequences, but physical as well. During “fight or flight” mode, blood moves away from the digestive system and toward the extremities to allow for easier movement to respond to the stressor. This means the body has a more difficult time processing food, leading to diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, or a general stomachache. “Fight or flight” also causes muscles to tense to provide protection from a potential injury, leading to headaches, back and shoulder pain and body aches. If you’re an athlete, this could possibly even put you out of your sport.
In addition, the liver produces extra glucose for energy, but chronic stress means your body might not be able to keep up and process the excess, increasing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Prolonged stress also weakens the immune system. This increases the risk of stress-related illness. Not only are you more susceptible to catching a cold, the flu or other infections, but it becomes harder to recover, taking longer than it would otherwise.
Lastly, stress can expose you to an array of sleep problems, whether it be trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep or nightmares. Inadequate can in turn worsen your stress; don’t let yourself get caught in this vicious cycle.
Thankfully, there are a few ways you can manage your stress. You need a good balance in your life, so make sure you find time to enjoy yourself. Exercising is also a great way to get blood flowing and promote the release of mood-improving endorphins. Most importantly, the best way to reduce and prevent stress is sleep. While it may seem contradictory to the aforementioned information, sleep is truly the most effective method of stress management, and it’s highly important you get enough sleep when possible.
